“After just one hour of listening to the story of his dramatic escape from two armed guards when he was only sixteen years old, I was hooked.”
– Joseph P. O’Donnell
“After just one hour of listening to the story of his dramatic escape from two armed guards when he was only sixteen years old, I was hooked,” recounts Joseph P. O’Donnell, the prolific author behind the newly acclaimed memoir, “Run for My Life.” O’Donnell, best known for his gripping Gallagher Trilogy of mystery novels, has demonstrated a remarkable versatility in his writing career. His works include “Fatal Gamble,” “Deadly Codes,” and “Pulse of My Heart,” which collectively inspired the 2018 feature-length motion picture “Bent.” The film, starring Karl Urban, Sofia Vergara, Andy Garcia, and Grace Byers, was directed and adapted by Bobby Moresco, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “Crash.”
In 2020, O’Donnell expanded his repertoire with the children’s picture book “The Tall Tree,” earning the Silver Award from the Feathered Quill for the second-best children’s picture book of the year. His talent for capturing real-life stories was further evident in 2022 with “Living on the Fringe of the Mob,” a memoir that goes into the life of a man connected to the New York Mob. This gripping narrative has since been adapted into a screenplay for a nine-episode miniseries.
However, it is O’Donnell’s latest work, “Run for My Life,” that has captured widespread acclaim and multiple awards. Published in 2023, this memoir tells the harrowing true story of Daniel Kolmann’s escape from Communist-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1964. The book has won accolades, including being a finalist in two separate categories by the Feathered Quill and receiving the BREW Nonfiction Book Excellence Award 2024 Inspirational Book of the Year.
O’Donnell’s journey from a Board-Certified Pediatric Dentist and Associate Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine to a celebrated author is as inspiring as the stories he tells. Residing in West Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife Ronney, O’Donnell continues to write, drawing from his rich life experiences and the remarkable tales of others. Together, they cherish their family, including two grown children, Jonathan and Randi, and three grandchildren, Alessandra, Shira, and Hasana.
In this interview, O’Donnell shares his profound connection to Daniel Kolmann’s story, the meticulous research process, and the inspirational messages he hopes readers will take away from “Run for My Life.”
TWB: “Run for My Life” recently won the BREW Nonfiction Book Excellence Award 2024 for Inspirational Book of the Year. How did it feel to receive this recognition, and what does it mean to you and Daniel Kolmann?
JTOD: I was deeply honored to receive this award and proud that Daniel’s compelling story was so highly regarded. I hope that this recognition will increase the book’s readership and serve as an inspiration for others to overcome antisemitism and to find freedom.
TWB: What drew you to Daniel Kolmann’s story and why did you decide to write “Run for My Life”?
JTOD: Daniel had heard that I was a writer and, in particular, that I had written the memoir, Living on the Fringe of the Mob, of another member of our community here in Florida. I knew that Daniel was an excellent tennis player since he had won many tournaments at our Club. But, other than his reputation as a good athlete, I had no knowledge of his early life. At first, when he asked me to write his memoir, I was hesitant but agreed to meet him for coffee to discuss his background. After just one hour of listening to the story of his dramatic escape from two armed guards when he was only sixteen years old, I was hooked. Over the course of the next year, we met frequently for more interviews, during which I obtained the details, not only of his early life in Communist-occupied Czechoslovakia, but those of his amazing mother who overcame unfathomable tragedies to eventually find freedom for herself in the United States.
TWB: Can you share some details about the research process and how you were able to capture the vivid details of Daniel’s life and experiences?
JTOD: My research process was basically centered around studying the history of Nazi rule over Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s and early 1940s and the eventual takeover of the country by the Russians after World War II. Daniel’s recollections of life and personal traumatic events during these times were indelibly etched into his memory bank and offered me, as a writer, the opportunity to bring those emotions directly to the reader.
TWB: Daniel Kolmann faced immense challenges and risks in his pursuit of freedom. What do you think were the key factors that fueled his determination to escape?
JTOD: When Daniel was fifteen years old and living most of his life in the Sports Camp under the watchful eyes of the armed Russian guards, his mother was able to use her connections to arrange a clandestine meeting for Daniel and his sister, Ana in Warsaw, Poland within the Soviet Bloc. This was the first time Daniel and Ana, age 31, had an opportunity to meet. During this meeting Ana, who had moved to Israel just before the Russians took control of Czechoslovakia, gave some advice to her younger brother: “When you have the opportunity, you must escape.” Her words stunned Daniel but, in the end, he realized that she was right. His mother echoed Ana’s words to him on the train ride back to Bratislava: “You have to find the right time and the right place to escape. If you don’t, you’ll have no future in our country.” These words were powerful and resonated with Daniel. When he returned to the Sports Camp, he was determined to escape.
TWB: Throughout his journey, Daniel developed remarkable athletic skills. How do you think his sports training and achievements influenced his character and resilience?
JTOD: His achievements as an athlete gave him confidence in overcoming obstacles in life. Over time, he developed an attitude of “I can do this” which carried over from sports to the challenges in his life. Furthermore, his constant training provided him with athletic endurance to outlast opponents in tennis matches and, more importantly, made it possible for him to run for hours when he escaped from the Russian guards in Athens, Greece.
TWB: What was the most challenging part of writing this memoir, and how did you overcome it?
JTOD: For me, the most challenging part was bringing the reader directly into the story. I knew from the outset that the pacing of this story—particularly during the escape scene—had to be crisp. No long sentences; no excessive description. Instead, short paragraphs—often just one sentence—and sentences that were often just two or three words. I also used italicized lines to verbalize his thoughts during his escape. In essence, Daniel was speaking directly to the reader. This technique worked very well in heightening the drama and, as readers have told me, brought them to the edge of their seats during Daniel’s dramatic run away from the two guards and through the streets of Athens.
TWB: “Run for My Life” is described as a page-turner for teen readers. What elements of Daniel’s story do you think will resonate most with young readers today?
JTOD: Early in the book I focused on establishing the themes of perseverance, unyielding resolve and the unrelenting pursuit of freedom. As a young boy, Daniel learns that his two older brothers that he never had a chance to know had been taken away from his mother and executed by the Nazis. Then, when he was only twelve, Daniel is taken away from his mother by Russian guards and forced to live in a Sports Camp where he is watched 24/7 by armed guards and only allowed to see his parents once a week. Young readers are unquestionably shocked by these events and Daniel’s loss of individual freedom. I did not, however, focus on portraying Daniel as a “victim.” Rather, I wanted young readers to be encouraged and inspired by his indomitable spirit, resilience and eventual triumph to find freedom in the face of overwhelming odds.
TWB: You have written a variety of books, including mystery novels and children’s stories. How does writing a memoir like “Run for My Life” differ from your other works?
JTOD: The main difference between my mystery novels and my two memoirs is that with the former, I could just “make it all up.” The memoirs require many hours of gathering the details, establishing the facts, and interviewing the subject as well as family, friends and others that can corroborate the story and add to the narrative. Each memoir required one and a half to two years from my initial contact with the subject to completion of the final draft and eventual publication.
In contrast, my children’s book, The Tall Tree, was just 100% fun. When our oldest granddaughter (Alessandra) was three years old, she was visiting my wife and me in Florida and was having a difficult time falling asleep at night. Our daughter asked me to tell her a story to help her get to sleep. My mother-in-law had a cat named Mister Gray and Alessandra knew him very well. So, I made up a silly little story about a tree in the forest that was the home for a lot of small animals. When one of the mice gets lost, Mister Gray comes to the rescue, finds him and brings him back to the Tall Tree. At the end of this story, Alessandra fell sound asleep. The next night, our daughter said, “Dad, tell her another story!” So, I went into Alessandra’s room and started to tell her another silly little story that I was making up on the fly. “No, Grandpa,” she said. “I want to hear about Mister Gray and the Tall Tree.” I was actually caught off guard and had to struggle a bit to remember the story I had made up the previous night. But it finally came to me and, once again, she fell sound asleep.
After our daughter and Alessandra went back to New York, my wife got a call from our daughter. “Use your cell phone to make a recording of Dad reading that story about The Tall Tree. I want to play it every night so she will continue to fall asleep.” So, my wife recorded me telling the story.
This pattern continued for the next five years as Alessandra was joined by two younger sisters, who also wanted to hear The Tall Tree at bedtime.
One day, I got an idea and called my publisher, Outskirts Press, and asked if I could publish three hard cover copies of The Tall Tree to be given to my three granddaughters as a keepsake. There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Are you crazy?” the associate asked. “Do you think we just print three copies of a book?”
I tried to explain the reasons for my request, but I was getting nowhere fast.
Finally, she said, “Send us a copy of the manuscript and we’ll look it over.”
“Manuscript?” I asked. “I just have it handwritten on a few sheets of paper.”
“Okay, just send us what you have.”
So, I mailed it to Outskirts Press.
A few weeks went by and I received a call from a publishing associate at Outskirts.
“We think we can sell this story. Let’s publish it.”
Over the next few months, I worked with two young and very talented illustrators to create illustrations that complemented the story.
I published The Tall Tree near the end of 2019.
In 2020, The Tall Tree was voted the Silver Award by The Feathered Quill as the second-best Children’s Picture Book of the Year.
Go figure.
TWB: Your previous book, “Living on the Fringe of the Mob,” also deals with real-life stories of struggle and survival. What common themes do you see between this book and “Run for My Life.”
JTOD: The main characters in both memoirs are faced with antisemitism at various times in their lives and both have to draw on cunning and inner strength to overcome danger and obstacles in their respective paths to obtain freedom and/or success. In the case of Steve Sachs, his life is a riveting collection of true stories about the New York Mob from the early 1960s through the early 2000s. Rather than being a “made man,” Steve is connected to some of the highest ranking and notorious mobsters in New York City by virtue of longstanding childhood friendships and legitimate business relationships. Despite being an “outsider,” Steve is often invited “inside” one of the major organized crime families in New York. Steve often has to tiptoe through the choices of legal versus illegal and safety over danger while leading a life that can only be described as a rollercoaster ride filled with close calls, secret meetings and often humorous events.
The theme of “Run for My Life” is compelling in a much broader sense. Daniel’s struggle for freedom is a singular effort that carries a much higher risk of danger. He is in a foreign country and does not speak the language. There are no friends to help him. Even worse, fearing retribution by their superiors, the armed guards will not hesitate to kill him if he is caught during his escape.
TWB: What do you hope readers take away from “Run for My Life,” and how do you think Daniel’s story can inspire others facing their own challenges?
JTOD: There are two important messages in “Run for My Life.” First of all, Daniel Kolmann’s incredible life journey is characterized by his indomitable human spirit, perseverance and dogged pursuit of freedom. Certainly, young readers will feel inspired by his daring escape and willingness to risk everything to become free from political oppression.
The second most important message of “Run for My Life’ is within the backstory of Daniel’s incredible mother, Erna “Netty” Kolmann. This amazing woman withstood unfathomable losses of two husbands and two young boys to repressive, tyrannical Nazi and Russian rulers of Czechoslovakia. Yet, she never gave in to her oppressors—remaining strong, clever and defiant, but never losing the ability to be kind and loving. Her story and her eventual success in finding freedom in the United States is truly inspirational.
⭐
“Certainly, young readers will feel inspired by his daring escape and willingness to risk everything to become free from political oppression.”
– Joseph P. O’Donnell
Useful Links
- Joseph P O’Donnell on Goodreads
- Joseph P O’Donnell on Amazon
- JP O’Donnell on Goodreads
- JP O’Donnell on Amazon
- Get a copy of Run for my Life by Joseph P O’Donnell here
- Know more about the BREW Book, Blog, and Poetry Awards here
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I applaud that “Run for My Life” targets teen readers. I’m sure it’s an exciting read, but most importantly, we can’t let the younger generations forget all the awful things that happened during the Nazi regime.
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